


heartbeat

by Nickety



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Nightmares, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28658871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nickety/pseuds/Nickety
Summary: Season 7 AU-ish hurt/comfort, because you can’t tell me it didn’t traumatize Bellamy to watch Clarke die in front of him (again).
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 64





	heartbeat

Weeks of Anomaly-jumping and struggling to outmaneuver the Disciples had taken its toll, leaving the survivors haggard, drained, and doubly paranoid as if Earth’s ghosts weren’t haunting enough. The day they all finally managed to reunite and touch down on an isolated planet a step ahead of Cadogan and his minions, it was decided to stop moving long enough to take a full night’s rest. Echo and Bellamy had been the only dissenting votes, but Echo’s relentless warrior drive aside, the most Bellamy needed was a proper look at the soul-deep exhaustion in Clarke’s eyes before hastily agreeing. 

Weeks of ever-changing groupings (the Anomaly giveth, the Anomaly taketh away, spitting them out in a random pairings or groups for days at a time every time they were forced to jump) had managed to shift group dynamics enough that Clarke wasn’t treated like her very presence was venomous every second of every day, but she still erred on the side of caution when it came to the vulnerability of sleep. 

Tonight, with Madi left on Sanctum in Gaia and Indra’s care, Clarke lay her aching, weary body down with Miller’s stalwart protection at her back and the strange trio of Diyoza, Octavia and a fully-grown Hope before her. Gabriel bedded down nearby and beyond him lay Bellamy, her last clinging piece to the family they once shared, whose remaining pieces rested in a loose circle on his other side. 

Far too tired to risk catching Raven or Murphy’s gaze and finding no warmth, she let her eyes linger on Bellamy. It was a relief to finally see him resting, peaceful and still compared to the restless vigilance he’d been displaying for days. With his protective instincts kicked into high gear, Bellamy had taken to hovering, anxious and alert at her side, at Octavia’s, circling around Miller and Raven and Murphy with an ever-watchful eye. She found herself reminded of a predator on the prowl, his tension never dispersing even as days passed and he grew more exhausted by his constant hypervigilance. 

Clarke had spent just as many days in worry, noting every tense and taut pull of his body, every clench of his jaw, every tightening of his fists. Following the frantic dance of dark, fervent eyes, restless and possessive as they dared any and all to encroach and threaten those he was looking after. So she let herself take him in, studying his face slack and relaxed in sleep, watching the flames from their campfire cast shadows over his handsome features and feeling the itch in her fingers for charcoal and paper. 

Lulled into the teetering place between sleep and consciousness, she was jolted abruptly back to awareness by the second-most heart-wrenching sound she’d heard in her life (only exceeded by Madi’s terrified cry): Bellamy’s hoarse, guttural scream of her name. 

Adrenaline pounding through her veins, Clarke rushed to her feet and Bellamy’s side. His wild, bloodshot eyes flew open and searched around frantically, widening and gaining some semblance of focus as they landed on her. When he reached out, there was no power in the universe that would have made her deny him. 

He clutched at her with an almost bruising hold, her name a mantra he muttered again and again. His head cradled against her shoulder, Clarke stroked his curls, forcing herself not to react at the unconscious brush of his lips against her skin, shifting closer until he nuzzled against the side of her throat, seeking what Clarke knew from experience was the feel of her pulse. 

When he first trembled, she thought him cold, but another shudder followed, one after another until he was silently sobbing. Forgetting everything and everyone that wasn’t the man in her arms, she pulled from every experience soothing Madi’s childhood nightmares, rocking them gently back and forth, stroking his back and whispering reassurances in his ear. 

“I’m here, Bell. You saved me, remember? I’m right here with you.”

But even with her comfort, his exhausted, sleep-deprived body had little defense against his distress, and his sobs grew heavier. His body shook from the force of his sobs, violent shudders coursing through him as his breath came out in short, pained gasps. Clumsy hands patted blindly at her torso, first at her waist, then her side, and finally the buttons to her coat. Without hesitation, Clarke caught on quickly and aided in the task his trembling fingers couldn’t accomplish, pulling her coat open and off without preamble, going to work next on her top. 

Despite the pair’s forgetting of their audience, they remained surrounded by their companions, incredulously captivated by what they were witnessing. Helpless to Bellamy’s breakdown and uncertain how to help, it didn’t take more than a second of Bellamy appearing to be undressing Clarke in front of them to elicit a reaction. Raven shifted uncomfortably, Murphy grumbling and only holding back sharp snark by Emori’s intervention, and Echo starting toward her ex and his partner with a mulish, outraged expression. 

Octavia was only a step behind, hands clamping down like irons on Echo’s arms, stopping her in her tracks. “Stop,” she demanded in a low hiss.

“Octavia-” Echo bristled, only to be cut off by Octavia’s vehement insistence. 

“No. It’s not like they’re about to get down in front of us. He needs this right now. Let them be!”

Meanwhile, Clarke had shrugged out of her jacket and pulled her henley over her head, leaving her exposed to the cool night air in a sleeveless undershirt. Bellamy gently tucked his blanket around her shoulders, tucking himself deeper into her embrace as they lay back together against his makeshift bed. Accommodating for his height, he curled himself around her, head resting between her breasts, ear pressed to her chest. He took in a shaky, shuddering breath, tension releasing out in a rush as his body relaxed against her, soft and pliable as he finally found his peace. 

A soft gasp broke through the air, Raven’s hand clamping down on her mouth as her eyes widened with realization. Emori looked at her in concern, resting a hand against her shoulder as Murphy cocked an eyebrow. “What is it, Reyes? What about this could get any weirder?”

“It’s her heartbeat,” Raven concluded in a hesitant, pained whisper. “He was looking for her heartbeat.”

Her words caused Echo to freeze in trying to fight Octavia off without violence (ex or not, hitting his sister wouldn’t look very good to Bellamy), and Octavia shot Raven a baleful glare. “Well, yeah. Bell literally watched her flatline less than a month ago. Has no one noticed he’s barely been able to let her go to the bathroom by herself for weeks now?!”

An uncomfortable silence followed, heavy with realization and unspoken things. All things that could wait just one more night, as Clarke’s fingers tangled through disheveled curls and pressed a kiss to her partner’s brow, closing her eyes as her heart beat slow, strong, and steady, soothing both her and the man she trusted above all into a deep, dreamless sleep. 


End file.
